


Forget me Not

by Ave_Sei, Pigeon_Mermaid



Category: Death Parade (Anime)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reference to Depression, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-01-20 00:39:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12421437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ave_Sei/pseuds/Ave_Sei, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pigeon_Mermaid/pseuds/Pigeon_Mermaid
Summary: Chiyuki come back in her natal town, three years after have left. She's totally different from the fresh high schooler who decided to follow her dream. She said nothing about it. Without noticing, she find in her way a place she only heard of from the one who wanted to open it again. The Quindecim.





	1. Retrouvailles

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Forget me Not](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12421269) by [Ave_Sei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ave_Sei/pseuds/Ave_Sei). 



Her shadow was still visible in the sunlight which embraced the city. The night was coming, and few people were around: they surely had a good reason to be there instead of their home.

Chiyuki hasn't said a word about why she came back to her parents. It's been three days now, in this both new and nostalgic city. None of her ex-classmates knew about it either.

She isolated herself from everyone, and spent another day here, until she goes out from her home, even though she had no particular reason to do so.

The young woman stopped her walk, noticing that she started to be hungry. It would be smarter to take something before to get back to home.

At this moment, she noticed where she was. She searched a place to eat until she considers a place which she learned the name of this place.

Not a restaurant, but a coffee shop.

Quindecim.

It was opened.  
Instinctively, she walked toward this place, not because of her hunger, but this strange feeling of nostalgia, even though she just heard of this place.

When she opened the door, a bell made a delicate sound which surprised her an instant.

Then her eyes watched in front of her.

The bar, the silence, coffee's and sugar's scent.

On the other side of the bar, a young man who had to grow up and watched her too.

He was surprised to see her again, after all that time.  
She was about to say something.

But she didn't have the time.

_« Welcome to the Quindecim. »_

Her lips were left open for a little moment before she gives up.

And she smiled.

She couldn't give up anymore.

They talked like nothing happened, about what she wanted to eat, and haven't found the way to talk about something else.

Chiyuki ate nothing, focused on her drink.

Her finger taped in rhythm with the music.

And she let the base of her head rest on the other hand which took the form of a fist.

The bell ringed again, making her look at it: another customer left... and the manager of the coffee shop was coming to her.

« Chiyuki-san? »

She passed to bored to surprised.

« Y-yes?  
_ Can I sit?  
_ Of course. »

She showed him the chair, noticing that she was the only customer at this hour.

He sat like he used to do in the past, when they were still a high schooler.

But even if he had the initiative to come, it seems like he found nothing to ay.

They considered each other.

She looked at his face which rarely shown any change since she knew him and could make believe that he felt nothing, even if she knew very well that it was the opposite.

But she couldn't pass through this expression.

Decim said :

« How are you doing? »

She didn't know why, but it frankly amused her. He had an infinite amount of questions to ask her :

Why have you stopped to sent us letters? Why did you come back without saying anything? What are you doing there? What is happening?

But it was really like him to just ask that.

« I'm... not really okay. »

She smiled sadly.

 ** _« I would say, not at all. »_**  
…  
_« I don't know what happened...I don't know why I am back like this... I am sorry, I'm so pathetic...I left with so much optimism in high school and... I come back like this... »_

It was why she said nothing, to nobody. It was the first time she finally let it out, but she also felt like she had no right to complain. She disappointed everyone by coming back like this, and she didn't dare to do something like this, telling them what happened, something she still had difficulty to understand.

She thought back to her optimism when she finally got her apartment outside of the city, when she dedicated her life to ice skating, her passion, the letters she sent because it feels more authentic than any technological device, calling her friends... and how suddenly, everything got worst, how the pressure she wasn't able to handle made her like this despite all the work she did.

Her hands were shaking, her lips tightened, but it didn't stop the tears which were starting to flow, blurring her vision.

She sniffed.

But gently, she felt her hand being taken by two other hands, surprising her again, making her look straight at Decim.

  
She couldn't deal with this and hide her face with her other hand.

_« Chiyuki-san. »_

He tightened a little his own hands on her, like to make her stay with him. Chiyuki's second hand descended to the half of her face, hiding her lips.

« I'm sorry...  
_ Since how many time are you like this?  
_ … I don't know... »

He posed Chiyuki's hand beside his own and started to mass it gently.

Only the profound breath of Chiyuki could be heard.

She let her other hand on the table, letting him do what he started.

_« It's okay... thank you. »_

She smiled to him, whipped her tears, and he kept watching her without saying anything.

« You're not forced to tell me anything now, Chiyuki-san. »

She nodded, still smiling.

« I don't know what happened... but the other will be happy to see you again. Even though I don't know for Ginti. »

She chuckled just by thinking about Decim's angry best friend, sensitive to his words now.

_« And even if it's not the case, it doesn't change that I am happy to see you again, Chiyuki-san. »_

Decim finally smiled. A smile clear and gentle, like him.

And Chiyuki smiled back, with the shining smile she could do.

_« Thank you a lot. »_

_The Quindecim closed a little later than usual, his responsible being with someone he cherished dearly._

_They shared a light they haven't seen since a long time._

_On this place, Chiyuki was welcome._


	2. From a Dream to Another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decim help Chiyuki even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, it's rather short too...but the next chapter will not be as long to come than this one.
> 
> Hopefully I found someone to help me, so I should upload faster from now.

**From one dream to another**

It was the only place she had found that gave her a reason to step out of the house.

When she left it, it gave the impression to her parents that she had something to do, that she was perking up again…

With this impression in mind, Chiyuki didn’t mention them the void she felt inside.

She had thought of trying to come back on the ice, but the mere idea made her even more miserable than she already was.

But even at Quindecim, she felt like an intruder.

Upon finishing high school, she was amongst those who needed to leave the town to chase after their dream.

Decim had shaped his own with his bare hands here, and in four years of absence, had managed it well.

He hadn’t talked to her that much about this place, not as much as he liked it, and it’s only in this way that she viewed the realization of his project.

Here, people came to lean back, to take a break before resuming with their life.

What about her?

Everything was right in order, and she literally was a blot on the landscape.

\- “Chiyuki-san?”

She was about to leave, and the fact he called her made her realize that she didn’t greet him, and at this point, said “see you tomorrow”.

\- “Yes?

\- May I escort you?”

She didn’t decline the offer.

Decim didn’t say anything for a moment. Perhaps he just wanted to be polite.

\- “Chiyuki-san?

\- Mm?

\- Would you like to work at Quindecim?”

…huh?

“Why?”

He didn’t answer right away, and she went on to say:

“I have never worked in a coffee shop. I would just be a source of annoyance.

\- I didn’t know how to do it either when I first started.

\- …

\- You don’t have to accept it, it’s just a proposal.

\- You are proposing this to me because… you’ve noticed?

\- ….

\- I have nothing to do with my days. Or rather I don’t find anything else to do besides going here.”

He didn’t answer, because she had answered her question herself.

And so an intimidating silence settled between them, until they reached her house.

At this moment, they stopped, she thanked him.

They didn’t say anything else, so Decim wondered if he should leave, but Chiyuki eventually added:

- “I’ll think about it. Thank you for your proposal . ”

She smiled, but it was far from that kind of smile she had in the past, still much too far.

But he was satisfied with it and smiled back at her.

A  benevolent smile.

When she was back home, when she could finally be alone in her room, she thought back to this same smile.

And she thought to herself that yes, she didn’t have anything else to do anyway.

 

 


	3. Starting Of Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiyuki finally start to work and going out. She open up, a little more, and think about what will undoubtedly happen.

He opened the door for her, and she slipped through the freed space, the sound of the bell tinkling to her ears.

At one of the tables, two young people were sitting and were leading a heated discussion which went out with the sound of said bell, leaving Decim and Chiyuki in an awkward silence, in front of the door.

\- “Hello! Are you the newcomer?” One of them began, a young man. The other one, who was a young woman, remained a bit behind.

The answer being obvious, the young man proceeded by standing up in order to make some room for his new colleague. Decim made a hand-gesture to introduce him before he did it himself, talking to Chiyuki:

\- “Chiyuki, this is Shimada-kun. Shimada-kun, this is Chiyuki.”

He went on by doing the same with the young shy woman:

\- “Chiyuki, she is called Mai-san. Mai-san, this is Chiyuki.”

Chiyuki shared an embarrassed smile with the other female member of their team.

\- “Chiyuki, Chiyuki… this name reminds me of something.”

A shiver went through her, understanding what she might be referring to: her career.

Mai was now looking at her with interest, but said nothing.

\- “Could it be that you’re-“ he began, but Decim who was sitting down at the same time, cut him off.

He inhaled and started again:

\- “Thank you for your warm welcome. I’m counting on you to help Chiyuki-san feeling at home with us.”

He turned to her:

\- “In addition to welcoming you, we have something to discuss today.

\- …ah?

\- Your opinion is worth as much as ours.”

She smiled a bit. She was still disoriented, but everything was going to make sense in the next few minutes. With this in mind, she thanked him.

\- “Even if, in this case, your opinion and Mai-san’s will determine the outcome of the situation.

-… how so?”

Shimada smiled, ready to talk, while Mai hid her face without her knowing her reason for doing so:

\- “You know Starbucks Chi… huh I mean…

\- You can call me by my firstname.

\- T-This early? In this case, I’ll imitate Decim, Chiyuki-SAN.”

She giggled, and he resumed:

\- “A Starbucks opened nearby, and it could take all of our customers away especially with the size of their building. And it is out of the question that our coffee shop loses its customer base… that’s why-

\- In short, he wants us to dress up like maids…” cut off Mai, still hidden.

\- “Eh?! Seriously?” asked again Chiyuki.

She looked at Mai, then at Decim who simply looked away.

\- “Using sex appeal to attract customers, yeah. Men’s too of course.

\- I’ve made some researches for models we could take if the girls, now two in numbers, would accept this.” continued Decim, very professionally.

Decim stood up and went to bring a folder, which he slid across the table. He carefully opened it, unpacking various models, which, against all odds, were all long skirt types.

\- “…where is the sex appeal in these?” asked Shimada

\- “Do you want to see us in small attire that much?!” retorted Mai.

\- “I’m imagining what the customer wants.” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

\- “We're not in a hostess's house here ... " commented Chiyuki, who seemed to be enjoying the situation more than anything else. “And what about the men's model?"

Decim didn’t do this by half-measures and also took care of the next case. At first glance, they didn’t appear that different from what they were already wearing now but Mai and Chiyuki scrutinized them attentively.

Surprisingly, Chiyuki caught herself having a good time.

They spent their time talking about the uniforms without ever deciding on one, while Decim went back and forth, serving drinks to them.

Soon, evening arrived and at the same time they calmed themselves down and they got to know each other. Decim poured some tea for everyone again before carrying on sipping his own cup, without saying a word, watching them.

Chiyuki was smiling again.

The choice of uniforms wasn’t made that day, but she enjoyed herself.

She will start working the day after tomorrow.

And Decim escorted her, once again.

\- “Did you have a good time, Chiyuki-san?

\- Yes.”

She smiled again.

\- “Your colleagues are funny. I especially liked how they described their first encounter with you.”

Earlier in the evening, Mai and Shimada had indeed talked about the day they had ventured into Quindecim for the first time, with a flyer which explained that the coffee shop needed employees.

Mai had opened the door: “Is anyone there?”

Her question rang through the room, nobody.

She hesitated between coming back later or entering now.

She entered.

\- “Huh… Is anyone there?”

Still no answer…

She stepped a bit forward, thinking that it would probably be better to turn back.

She finally turned around.

\- “Hello-

\- AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH-"

At the table, they laughed at this little misadventure.

\- “This sounded like the beginning of a horror story.” Chiyuki giggled, alongside Decim, on the way home.

\- “On the other hand, Shimada had just jumped.” added Decim.

\- “Huhu, it really seems like only Ginti, Clavis and me were the only ones not to be afraid of you. By the way, how are they?”

\- “They are doing fine. They occasionally come to the coffee shop, you might see them.”

Chiyuki wouldn’t dare confront them, not yet. She didn’t feel like she was ready for that.

And in all honesty… She knew that questions about her career would arise, sooner or later.

She still hadn’t said anything to her parents…

And particularly regarding the coffee shop, she expected to be recognized. Even if she hasn’t be seen on the screen, skating on the ice, in a while…

It was inevitable. No need to avoid this any longer, right?

Having spent the day outside had somehow refreshed her spirit.

She has missed talking to somebody.

She has missed being outside and enjoying herself.

But, even if all of that was obvious this knot in her st omach hasn't disappeared that easily.

Of course…

  
  


 


	4. Summer, Back Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiyuki dream about the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never updated that fast, I don't know what to say lol  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Don't mind for the other character, they'll appear in few chapters~

The first time she met him, the sun was high in the sky, the air was hot.

It was summer.

She was holding handouts of the lessons in her hands. Usually it wasn’t her who brought them to him, a friend of his did it instead.

As class rep, it was obvious that it was down to her to do it, though. But this friend had insisted on keeping her away from it. Was the same true for the absent student too?

She rang for the second time at the door.

\- “Decim-kun?”

She wondered if he was home.

The door half opened.

But he didn’t say anything.

\- “I’m Kuroka Chiyuki… I’m in your class. Your friend-

\- Ginti?”

His voice was deeper than what she had imagined. She couldn’t even see him properly to tell the truth.

\- “Yes, Ginti…-san wasn’t able to take your handouts today, so I came to bring them to you.

\- Thank you.”

A hand came out of the door’s half-open space, which opened slowly on the occupant.

She didn’t even had the time to think about it that the sheets were in his arms.

He had his head lowered. The only thing she could see was his white hair.

\- “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

And the door closed again without letting her the time to say anything more.

In the present time, Chiyuki woke up.

A memory in a dream.

She yawned, before heading wearily towards the bathroom.

\- “Well well, and regarding the uniforms?!”

She had almost forgotten she worked here.

\- “Good morning Chiyuki-san.

\- Good morning Decim.”

And she smiled.

Shimada had to let her pass despite his impatience, and she went to the small dressing room reserved for the employees, where Mai was already in.

Chiyuki was a bit late.

\- “What do you think of the uniforms?”

She asked Mai, who became red in the face.

\- “I don’t… know… they are pretty actually but I’m sure they won’t suit me… why are you smiling like that Chiyuki-san?”

The coffee shop was going to open soon and Decim wondered where the girls were.

Shimada was too focused on the preparation of the pastries to be concerned about it, so with  the quietness that characterized him , he went around the hall. He didn’t even thought about taking a look, of course, but he knocked on the door while asking if everything was alright and indicated that it will be time to open soon.

\- “Yes!”

…

They burst out of the room, almost standing at attention, a smile on their lips.

Mai, realizing what time it was, exclaimed:

\- “I’ll go back to Shimada-kun!”

She left as soon as she announced it, leaving Decim and Chiyuki looking at her running off.

\- “What were you doing?

\- You know the folder with the uniforms’ sketches… We were looking at them one more time. It’s a bit of a change from  figure skating outfits.”

She smiled sincerely, despite the mention of ice skating.

\- “This is a good thing.

\- Who did those? Did you draw them yourself, Decim?”

Suddenly, he looked thoughtful.

\- “Do you remember Castra-san?

\- “It’s Ginti’s aunt, if I’m not mistaken?...”

…

\- “She and my mother were very close. When she was still planning on opening the coffee shop, Castra-san had drawn those sketches. When I reopened the Quindecim, I asked Castra-san if I could retrieve them.

\- I see…”

She felt a bit embarrassed to have accidentally brought up the topic of his mother. But Decim, who realized that in a glance, reassured her:

\- “I’m fine.”

And since she was tightening her fist, he gently took her hand which loosen, and placed his own on Chiyuki’s.

They stayed like this for a moment. He looked at her in the eyes.

\- “Let’s go now.”

He kept on holding her hand while they headed towards their respective tasks.

During this day, Chiyuki had noticed several things.

Firstly: Shimada loved making pastries.

He excelled in this field. During an order, he told her that he had a little sister and that what he loved the most was to cook delicious dishes for her. Sae was her name.

Secondly: Mai had, it seemed, a soft spot for one of the customers.

She noticed it very easily just by the way she hesitated to go near where he was seated. And she couldn’t help herself but smile. Since Shimada was in charge to help her with the pastries and he did that with pleasure, he complained that the brunette wasn’t listening to him.

Thirdly: Decim treats his employees like a family.

By the way he watched over everyone very caringly, she wasn’t surprised that he was liked as well by his customers as Shimada and Mai.

And this third point warmed her heart.

He had changed for the better, and the others’ attitudes with it too.

He was loved.

He was loved.

The young man she had known had disappeared.

He had made way for this man who mastered his environment perfectly.

She was proud of him. Proud and a bit lonely.

The hot air from this summer was so long ago.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's been since so long that I prepare this, I'm happy to have done it. The translation is hand made so it may be a bit sloppy, tell me if anything is weird in my wording.
> 
> Still... THE COFFEE SHOP AU! FINALLY! HERE! Aw~ I'm delighted.
> 
> It's just starting tho, but we have many things coming. I hope you'll have fun in this journey with me and those characters.
> 
> Please, don't forget to let a review! I would love to know what you think about it!


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